Does a physiotherapy perform cancer rehabilitation?

Cancer rehabilitation is often delivered by a wider team rather than physiotherapy alone. Depending on your needs, that team may also involve rehabilitation doctors, occupational therapists, dietitians, speech and language therapists, psychologists, nurses or lymphoedema specialists.

A physiotherapist assesses strength, balance, joint movement, walking, breathing, pain and the activities that matter in daily life. Support may begin before treatment to build physical capacity, continue during therapy to maintain function, or start afterward to address limitations. The plan changes as symptoms, blood counts, wounds and treatment effects change.

Sessions can include graded activity, mobility practice, breathing exercises, pacing, advice on safe transfers and exercises for a specific body area. After lymph-node treatment, a clinician with suitable training may assess swelling risk and teach protective strategies. Rehabilitation aims to improve what you can safely do; it is not a substitute for cancer treatment.

Bring a current medicine list and describe recent surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy or other treatment. Mention falls, numbness, dizziness, bone involvement, swelling, wounds, a central line and any restrictions given by your surgeon or oncologist. Wear clothing that allows comfortable movement. Follow the agreed home programme, but stop an activity that produces new or sharply increasing symptoms.

Pause exercise and contact your clinical team for a new fever, unusual bleeding, increasing wound redness or drainage, new limb swelling, marked dizziness, new weakness or pain that persists after activity. Seek urgent help for chest pain, severe breathlessness, fainting, sudden one-sided weakness, confusion or a limb that becomes suddenly hot, swollen and painful.

Ask whether you need a physiotherapist experienced in oncology, whether scans or treatment findings affect exercise choices, and which movements are temporarily restricted. You can also ask how progress will be measured, what equipment is genuinely useful and whom to contact if symptoms change between appointments.